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Wilson, S. Clay

Robert Crumb, in his introduction to the book “The Art of S. Clay Wilson”:
“I was never quite the same after meeting Wilson. I studied his portfolio of drawings ... I was being blasted away, dissolved, atomized! There was something very familiar about the drawings, yet something entirely new, never before seen! They were a synthesis, just like he himself was. There was the cartoon element, but that was just one layer. It looked like folk art, like old-time tattoos, like some demented high-school hotrodder’s notebook drawings. The drawings were rough, crazy, lurid, coarse, deeply American, a taint of white-trash degeneracy. Every inch of space was packed solid with action and crazy details. The content was something like I’d never seen before, anywhere, the level of mayhem, violence, dismemberment, naked women, loose body parts, huge, obscene sex organs, a nightmare vision of hell-on-earth never so graphically illustrated in the history of art! Wilson was the strongest, most original artist of my generation that I had yet met. Suddenly my own work seemed insipid, troo cloyingly cute, timid, still constrained by built-in censorship. Here was a young artist drawing in a raw, unsophisticated, vulgar, unschooled style, blatant, unashamed, free of all social restrictions and the aesthetic considerations of the time. ... He was a huge influence on me and on my work. After the breakthrough that Wilson had, somehow, made, I no longer saw any reason to hold back my own depraved id in my work. Why hide it? Why not put it on the paper? ...
It was Wilson’s fault! He’s the one who started it, not me!”

Wilson actually had longevity in his genes, both parents lived to very ripe old ages, so if he had quit drinking he could still be producing great art. Wilson had a 150% personality, he was much larger than life, was very intelligent and could talk about anything. He also had a great memory and would recount with great clarity stories from his life going back many years. It’s a real tragedy what happened to him (although not entirely unexpected).

There are 23 Pieces of Art In This Gallery.     1 through 18 shown.

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A Pirate and a Mermaid have a drink together, 1987

Art Details

Artist:	S. Clay Wilson (All)
Media Type:	Ink Wash
Art Type:	Pin Up
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	1509
Comments:	1
Added to Site:	5/8/2014

About the Owner

Rarebit Fiend
Member Since:	February 2005

A Pirate and a Mermaid have a drink together, 1987
Artist: S. Clay Wilson (All)
1509 Views, 1 Comment

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An empty envelope

Art Details

Artist:	S. Clay Wilson (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Other
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	834
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	10/11/2010

About the Owner

Rarebit Fiend
Member Since:	February 2005

An empty envelope
Artist: S. Clay Wilson (All)
834 Views

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Checkered Demon 1

Art Details

Artist:	S. Clay Wilson (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	267
Comments:	1
Added to Site:	8/1/2022

About the Owner

Rarebit Fiend
Member Since:	February 2005

Checkered Demon 1
Artist: S. Clay Wilson (All)
267 Views, 1 Comment

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Giant specialty piece

Art Details

Artist:	S. Clay Wilson (All)
Media Type:	Marker
Art Type:	Other
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	895
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	3/5/2013

About the Owner

Rarebit Fiend
Member Since:	February 2005

Giant specialty piece
Artist: S. Clay Wilson (All)
895 Views

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Kingdom of Evil centerspread (1992)

Art Details

Artist:	S. Clay Wilson (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Other
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	5788
Comments:	2
Added to Site:	12/16/2006

About the Owner

Rarebit Fiend
Member Since:	February 2005

Kingdom of Evil centerspread (1992)
Artist: S. Clay Wilson (All)
5788 Views, 2 Comments

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Letter 1979

Art Details

Artist:	S. Clay Wilson (All)
Media Type:	Ink Wash
Art Type:	Other
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	623
Comments:	1
Added to Site:	11/28/2015

About the Owner

Rarebit Fiend
Member Since:	February 2005

Letter 1979
Artist: S. Clay Wilson (All)
623 Views, 1 Comment

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Letter 1989

Art Details

Artist:	S. Clay Wilson (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Other
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	526
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	3/5/2013

About the Owner

Rarebit Fiend
Member Since:	February 2005

Letter 1989
Artist: S. Clay Wilson (All)
526 Views

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Letter 1991

Art Details

Artist:	S. Clay Wilson (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Other
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	464
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	3/5/2013

About the Owner

Rarebit Fiend
Member Since:	February 2005

Letter 1991
Artist: S. Clay Wilson (All)
464 Views

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Letter 1992

Art Details

Artist:	S. Clay Wilson (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Other
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	549
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	3/5/2013

About the Owner

Rarebit Fiend
Member Since:	February 2005

Letter 1992
Artist: S. Clay Wilson (All)
549 Views

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Letter 1992

Art Details

Artist:	S. Clay Wilson (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Other
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	615
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	3/5/2013

About the Owner

Rarebit Fiend
Member Since:	February 2005

Letter 1992
Artist: S. Clay Wilson (All)
615 Views

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Letter 2004

Art Details

Artist:	S. Clay Wilson (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Other
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	561
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	3/5/2013

About the Owner

Rarebit Fiend
Member Since:	February 2005

Letter 2004
Artist: S. Clay Wilson (All)
561 Views

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Postcard 1991

Art Details

Artist:	S. Clay Wilson (All)
Media Type:	Marker
Art Type:	Other
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	417
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	3/5/2013

About the Owner

Rarebit Fiend
Member Since:	February 2005

Postcard 1991
Artist: S. Clay Wilson (All)
417 Views

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Postcard 1995

Art Details

Artist:	S. Clay Wilson (All)
Media Type:	Marker
Art Type:	Other
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	531
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	3/5/2013

About the Owner

Rarebit Fiend
Member Since:	February 2005

Postcard 1995
Artist: S. Clay Wilson (All)
531 Views

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Self-portrait as horny satyr

Art Details

Artist:	S. Clay Wilson (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Pin Up
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	4142
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	5/11/2010

About the Owner

Rarebit Fiend
Member Since:	February 2005

Self-portrait as horny satyr
Artist: S. Clay Wilson (All)
4142 Views

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Specialty piece for tattoo artist Jonathan Shaw, 1989

Art Details

Artist:	S. Clay Wilson (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Other
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	1792
Comments:	1
Added to Site:	4/29/2014

About the Owner

Rarebit Fiend
Member Since:	February 2005

Specialty piece for tattoo artist Jonathan Shaw, 1989
Artist: S. Clay Wilson (All)
1792 Views, 1 Comment

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The dying Captain gets a crank implant, 1997

Art Details

Artist:	S. Clay Wilson (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Double Page Spread
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	861
Comments:	1
Added to Site:	11/8/2014

About the Owner

Rarebit Fiend
Member Since:	February 2005

The dying Captain gets a crank implant, 1997
Artist: S. Clay Wilson (All)
861 Views, 1 Comment

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The Swap, p.1

Art Details

Artist:	S. Clay Wilson (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	1021
Comments:	1
Added to Site:	12/21/2017

About the Owner

Rarebit Fiend
Member Since:	February 2005

The Swap, p.1
Artist: S. Clay Wilson (All)
1021 Views, 1 Comment

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The Swap, p.3

Art Details

Artist:	S. Clay Wilson (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	2911
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	12/21/2017

About the Owner

Rarebit Fiend
Member Since:	February 2005

The Swap, p.3
Artist: S. Clay Wilson (All)
2911 Views

There are 23 Pieces of Art In This Gallery.     1 through 18 shown.

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Search This Gallery Art By Type (within this Gallery) Double Page Spread (1) Interior Page (6) Other (13) Pin Up (3)   Art By Popularity (within this Gallery) Most Impressions Most Comments Most Likes   Art By Year (within this Gallery) 2022 2017 2015 2014 2013 2010 2006

Art By Artist (within this Gallery) S. Clay Wilson

 

About the Owner Rarebit Fiend Premium Gallery Owner Joined: February 2005 Last Login: September 2025 Ebay Id: rarebit-fiend Country: GERMANY On CAF: Rarebit's Want List Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF

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